Kelvin, AZ Parking

[crudcake]

Good Day Folks,

Quick question.  Is there any place near Kelvin, AZ that a guy can leave a vehicle for four days or so without worries?  I'd be willing to pay a reasonable charge if necessary. I'm looking to bike pack the Gila River area and didn't want to worry about my vehicle.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Crudcake

[ScottM]

I haven't heard of any issues with people leaving cars.... pretty much anywhere in the Kelvin area.  I've left mine at both trailheads on either side of the river without and issues.

[crudcake]

Thanks Scott.  I've never ridden that area, nor have I ever had any issues, but I thought that I'd throw it out there.  Looking forward to the possibilities of this area.

Thank you.

CC

[AZTtripper]

As long as your not sporting a ban mining bumper sticker you should be fine. Maybe somebody in the trailer court would let you rent a parking place, but like Scott said people have left rigs there in the past.

[crudcake]

Thanks again, Folks,

I'm also thinking of parking the ride in Superior for a few days and riding the AZT to Kelvin, then swinging around to the west and bringing the box canyon and other roads back to town.

After hitting the Big Bend area the past couple years, I'm thinking that this area may be a nice change.

CC

[AZTtripper]

I wouldn't park in town better out at Picket Post. Yep that's the goods out there.

[crudcake]

Checking in...

Heading out to the Gila this weekend.  Any info on the river crossing at the diversion dam?  Any latest intel on the best crossing options (from south side to north side), around the Price area?  I'm looking at the Google earth shots and it looks a bit sketchy getting a crossing gauging station.

Thanks,

CC

[ScottM]

Yeah, the river is getting higher and higher.  Not sure it is wise to cross it at 250+ CFS?  It's probably fordable if you're willing to swim!

AFAIK the route I have on the Gila Ramble page *should* work to get you across the diversion canal, which takes most of the flow.  They have finished dredging and rebuilding the dam, but no public access was granted even when finished.  I revisited the issue with the BLM but no progress has been made on a hiker/biker crossing, though they like the idea.

I'd say there's a good chance the GPX route will still work, but be prepared to be flexible and figure something else.  Worst case you ride the extra 5-6 miles into Florence, dine on fine Greek food at Mt. Athos (seriously, it's super good) then ride the 6 extra miles back.

Enjoy -- flowers should still be popping out there.  Let us know how it goes, both the crossing and the ride!

[strife]

Crudcake,
I did the Ramble route last week.  The river was 214 cfs at Kelvin (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/az/nwis/uv/?site_no=09474000&PARAmeter_cd=00065,00060)
I looked at the diversion dam/canal intake structure and it is definitely out of the question - tall chain link and barbwire and nothing in sight downsteam to get over the canal (although the river bed was dry below it).
I waded across at the Box Canyon wash.  It was just over knee deep in the current but has a smooth sandy bottom (went to waist deep in slack water near the bank).  A little higher flow might be fine, but much more and the speed and depth will get tough carrying a bike.  The hard part was getting through the brush along each bank.  I followed the GPX track from PedalingNoWhere (http://www.pedalingnowhere.com/routes/arizona-bikepacking-gila-river-ramble/) and navigating that exact track gets you through the brush and across the river nicely.  I would also advise staying off the railroad tracks.  It's heavily posted along there and I did see a highrail, both quiet and fast, and they might not be too excited to see bikes on their active rail line.

[ScottM]

Strife -- nice, glad to hear others are getting out there.  And good to know about crossing at 214 at that spot. 

PN's track is the exact track as here on bikepacking.net -- it's the route ATVs use to ford when the river is low.  Definitely need to follow it closely or you will get mired in the many layers of vegetation.  The track only briefly crosses and follows the rail line.  The rumor on the line is that it at most runs twice a day, and it runs very slow.  Like 15-20 mph slow.  I've spent quite a few nights near or above it, and have seen the train only occasionally, and always running quite slow.

We figured out a crossing that is several miles west of the diversion dam.  It's what I was referring to above that probably still works out for crossing when the river is high.  It's a little convoluted, too.  Check the Gila network file for that track.

[strife]

Scott,

By the way, thanks for putting this route on the site.  It's world-class.

[crudcake]

Scott,

I failed to mention how much I appreciate you guys sharing your ride information with us.  It looks like a great route, and your report on pedaling nowhere is world class, indeed.

This looks to be a blast, and we're looking forward to the experience.

CC

[crudcake]

All,

I've had the gpx loaded on my gps for the Gila network for a few months, and tracked the crossing that is upstream of the new detention dam.  Google shows a good look at the detention dam area, but I can't see from tracks if there's been any crossings around the gauging station.  We've decided to make the crossing call when we get there.  We're planning to park at the Picketpost TH, run the AZ down to Ripsey, then head west to Area 52.  From there, we're going across the Gila, then up Box Cannyon, Mineral Mountain, to Reymert trail, then east to the TH.

Camping near the Gila the first night, then near the Ripsey area the second, and third night up Box Canyon Rd somewhere.  We hope to travel slow, and take a bunch of pictures.

Really looking forward to this one.  

CC